Asset allocation, e.g., for a financial portfolio, may determine the portfolio's risk and return characteristics. For example, asset allocation may generally be described as the process of determining what financial instruments (e.g., assets) may be incorporated into the portfolio to maximize the portfolio's return within risk tolerance levels determined by, e.g., the owner of the portfolio. As different asset classes may produce different returns, over time, the portfolio's asset values (and thereby the asset allocation) may change. To recapture the portfolio's original risk and return characteristics, the portfolio may be “rebalanced” to its original asset allocation criteria determined by the owner of the portfolio.
Many factors may influence a rebalancing strategy which may be a function of, e.g., portfolio assets' expected returns, volatility, and the correlation of their returns. Typically, to perform the rebalancing process, an approach may be used to compare the portfolio's current percent value of each asset relative to the total portfolio value, to the original asset allocation criteria which may generally define the desired percent value of each asset relative to the total portfolio value. Such an approach primarily may be based upon the asset symbol or Committee on Uniform Security Identification Procedures (CUSIP).